The Real Deal New York

De Blasio is OK with Cuomo’s 421a proposal, unless it costs the city

Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio (Illustration by Lexi Pilgrim for The Real Deal)

Mayor Bill de Blasio is cool with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new 421a proposal as long as the city doesn’t have to foot the bill.

At an unrelated press conference on Thursday, the mayor said that he supported a proposal to provide construction wage subsidies for certain projects under the tax abatement program, the New York Post reported. He just doesn’t want the program to impact the city’s already cash-strapped affordable housing program.

“God bless ’em,” he said. “If that’s what the state thinks is the right thing to do with state money, of course we can work with that.”

The New York Times revealed late Wednesday that Cuomo proposed a plan to revive the defunct tax abatement program. In a one-page memo provided to a select group of developers, the governor laid out a plan that set union-level minimum wages for projects but also offered up wage subsidies. The proposal set a minimum of $65 an hour in wages and benefits for Manhattan projects south of 96th Street with over 300 units, and a minimum of $50 an hour in wages and benefits for similarly-sized projects in Brooklyn and Queens. For the latter, the state would have to shell out $15 per hour.[NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel